Anita Roddick

Anita Roddick (1942–2007) was a British entrepreneur who founded The Body Shop and became known for promoting ethical consumerism and corporate social responsibility.

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Gordon Roddick: British entrepreneur and co-founder of The Body Shop, who was married to Anita Roddick. He helped establish the company and build it alongside Roddick.
The Body Shop: A cosmetics and personal-care retailer founded in Brighton, England, in 1976 by Anita Roddick. Roddick’s business and public identity grew from this company.
Ethical consumerism: Consumer choices guided by ethical concerns such as labor conditions, animal welfare, and environmental impact. Roddick encouraged customers to connect purchases with social and environmental consequences.
Ethical marketing: Marketing that foregrounds a product’s social, environmental, or labor-related attributes. The Body Shop’s campaigns helped make ethical claims a recognizable retail strategy.
Corporate activism: Public advocacy by companies or business leaders on social, political, or environmental issues. Roddick used her position as a retailer to campaign beyond product promotion.
Dame Vivienne Westwood: British fashion designer known for bringing punk and political messages into mainstream fashion. Like Roddick, she used a prominent consumer brand to advance public causes.
Brighton: A seaside city on England’s southern coast, known for its cultural life and tourist economy. Roddick opened the first Body Shop there in 1976.
Community Trade: The Body Shop’s fair-trading program, which sourced ingredients and accessories from small producers and communities. It put Roddick’s claims about fair sourcing into a company purchasing program.
Greenwashing: Misleading communication that makes an organization or product seem more environmentally responsible than it is. Critics questioned whether The Body Shop’s ethical image always matched its business practices.
Cause marketing: Marketing that connects a company or product with a charitable or social cause. The Body Shop’s activism raised questions about the boundary between advocacy and brand-building.